Heartbeats
by Insomnium
Summary: On the day Meiko is supposed to marry Namura, she can't seem to get Satoshi out of her head. Satoshi/Meiko oneshot drabble.


**I've always loved Satoshi/Meiko pairings... This is just some drabble I wrote up.**

**Basically, as Meiko prepares for the wedding, she finds herself thinking about Satoshi, and she can't seem to get him out of her mind. Probably OoC, but I haven't really watched the show or read the manga in a while, so I'm not sure.**

**:)**

"Meiko, you look beautiful," Miki breathed from the doorway.

Slightly surprised, Meiko lifted a hand to smooth her skirt, and then turned to look in the mirror. With a small smile, she said, "Thank you." Her wedding dress was in the Western style, pure white with ribbons slashing the bodice and trailing sleeves, the skirt made wide by a crinoline beneath it. Meiko felt beautiful, but at the same time like a stranger in her own skin. That carefully painted face staring back at her screamed uncertainty.

"Na-chan will drop dead when he sees you," Meiko's maid of honor continued happily. "I can't believe you're getting married! I'm so happy you two finally can be together, after everything you've been through. It really is amazing."

_It is amazing._"I know," Meiko answered. "But Miki, I'm so nervous. I… I think I'm getting cold feet. Everything's going to be different after today, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Miki said, scandalized. "Everything's changing for the better! You'll be happy and you won't have to worry anymore. Just think! You'll be _married._ And to Na-chan!"

At that, Meiko laughed. "You're right, I shouldn't be so anxious." _After all, my dream is finally coming true. I love Na-chan with all my heart. I hope Miki can find as much happiness as I have. Ryouko-san too, and…_Unbidden, Miwa Satoshi's face jumped across her vision and she tried to blink it away. _And Miwa-san too_, she thought regretfully. But just as soon as she had him out of her mind, he jammed his way back in. "Miki," she said suddenly. "I think I'd like to be alone for a while. Is that alright with you?"

Miki tilted her head, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Meiko assured her. "Yeah, I just want to think a little."

Hesitating, Miki placed her hand on the door handle. "If you want to talk, I'll be down the hall," she said and closed the door with a smile and a wave.

As Meiko sat down on her bed, she fiddled with the ribbons on her dress. _I love Namura-sensei_, she told herself firmly. _I always have. I always will_. She sifted through her memories carefully: when she had met Namura, when she had realized just how much she cared for him, when he had left her. Skipping over the incident where he had told her he was dating Ryouko, Meiko recalled when she and Namura had decided to marry, and her heart sped up just at the thought. So why did she feel so unsure?

Again, Miwa invaded her thoughts.

And now, her heart beat twice as fast.

_Why? Why is this happening all of a sudden? _Meiko squeezed her eyes shut, bringing her knees to her chest. _I thought I was done with difficult decisions._

_

* * *

_

_Almost three o'clock_, Satoshi observed, checking his watch absently. _Her wedding is supposed to start at three-thirty, isn't it? I hope it goes perfectly. _Not for the first time, he wished he had accepted Meiko's invitation. Why did he have to be so proud?

"_Miwa-san_,_" Meiko said, looking down at the library floor. "I know this may not… I don't want you to take this the wrong way." She met his eyes, half determined, half pained. "It would mean a lot if you would come to my wedding."_

_Satoshi closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "I don't think that would be such a good idea, Akizuki-san. I don't think Namura-sensei would appreciate it too much."_

"_I don't want Na-chan to keep you from coming," she insisted. "I really do want you to come."_

_Feeling sick to his stomach, Satoshi grinned. "I said you could have him," he reminded Meiko. "That doesn't necessarily mean I want to watch you ride into the sunset with him. I'm sorry, Akizuki-san." He tried not to look at her trembling lip as he turned to leave. "I'll see you later."_

"Stupid," Satoshi muttered. "You should be there." _You're so selfish. She wants to be happy. Why don't you let her?_

_

* * *

_

With some wonderment, Meiko flipped through a notebook she had long stored away on her bookshelf. The writing inside was the beginning of her first novel, the one she had been hesitant to write. Light, delicate characters crawled over the first few pages, but, very slowly, they grew more practiced, more sure. Notes in the margins added possible ideas and illuminated places where more work could be done. The confidence in her writing had been Miwa's doing, she knew. In the space beside where her notebook had been was a tan envelope holding the first typed copy of the novel. The one she had let Miwa read. Why did it always come back to him?

In frustration, Meiko shoved her notebook back onto the shelf and rushed over to her window. The sun shone brightly over her parent's mansion, perhaps trying to show her the future she would have. But she knew better than to trust illusions. Without really thinking, Meiko hoisted herself up onto the windowsill and swung her feet over the edge. Her white dress fluttered in the slight breeze.

"Meiko!" Miki shouted from the hallway. "We need to leave in five minutes! Are you almost ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a second," Meiko called back. But she wasn't planning on walking out of that door. Cringing at what she was about to do, at how she was about to ruin everything she had ever wanted, Akizuki Meiko slipped out of the window, landing her feet lightly on the trellis climbing up the outside wall.

A line of cars waited in the street outside, boxed in by Meiko's family, bridesmaids, and assorted other wedding guests. She avoided the front yard altogether, lest she be noticed, and instead fled behind the house and away.

"Meiko! _Meiko!_ We have to leave _now!_" Miki pulled open her friend's door without waiting for a response and gasped. The room was empty, the window opened. Eyes widening by the second, she collapsed against the doorframe. "_YUU!"_ she shrieked.

A few seconds later, Yuu came ambling down the hallway, rubbing one of his ears. "I was right down the hall," he informed Miki. "You don't have to be so loud."

"Yes I do! Meiko's _gone!_" Grabbing Yuu's arms, Miki pushed him roughly through the doorway. "See? She's not here! She's been kidnapped!"

For a few moments, Yuu was silent as Miki continued to babble to herself incoherently. "She wasn't kidnapped, Miki," he said gravely. "Meiko's made a choice."

"A choice?" Miki murmured. Then she glared at the open window and rounded on Yuu. "That's all good and fine for her, but what do I tell her parents and everyone else?"

Yuu flinched.

* * *

Sitting on the library steps, Satoshi leaned his elbows on his knees. Maybe it was for the best that Meiko was marrying Namura. After all, Satoshi really had nothing to offer her, nothing that Meiko would value anyway. From the beginning of their short relationship, he had been nothing but Namura's replacement. How could he have been anything else?

Dully, Satoshi glanced at the fountain in front of the library. It was not something he really noticed even when he walked right past it. It had always been there. Perhaps it was one of those things that people took for granted. For several minutes, Satoshi sat, watching the falling water splash into the pool below. _Three-fifteen._Fifteen minutes until the ceremony began.

Satoshi found himself rising from the steps now and walking forward. Before he even knew what he was doing, he placed his foot on the lip of the fountain and climbed up, already getting sprayed by the water. With another step, he was standing in the shallow water near the fountain's base, unconscious of his waterlogged clothes and soaked hair. Somehow, the cold water was comforting. He didn't care who saw him now.

* * *

Holding her skirts above the ground, Meiko trotted along the streets, unaware of the gazes of passersby and the curious whispers that followed her. She knew exactly where she was going and nothing would stop her from reaching her destination. _He has to be there_, she thought vaguely, finally glimpsing the giant hedge wall that surrounded the school library. _Where else would he be?_Frantically, she hoped she was right. She wasn't sure she had the courage to search the entire campus for Miwa in the dress she was supposed to marry Namura in. That she was even going this far was mindboggling. And for what? A boy who she had only considered because the man she loved had left her? _What am I even holding onto?_she asked herself as she came to a halt in front of the library.

There he was, blue-black hair slicked against his face and neck, hands thrust into his pockets. Standing in the middle of the fountain? Even so, the familiar tattoo of Meiko's heartbeat wiped everything else from her mind. _Is this what they mean by following your heart?_ she wondered.

As soon as Meiko stepped through the hedge's archway, Miwa turned. They stared at each other for what seemed countless hours, Meiko's expression sad, Miwa's completely shocked. Finally, Meiko took a shaky breath. "Hello, Satoshi-san." She had no idea why she had called him Satoshi. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Akizuki-san," Miwa said carefully, eyes never leaving hers, "what are you doing here?"

Meiko glued her eyes to the ground. "I'm not sure." Suddenly, she raised her head. "Why are you standing in the fountain?"

Miwa blinked, and then smiled widely. "That's a good question," he laughed. "I think the popular theory is that I'm insane, but I don't believe it. What do you think?"

Giggling slightly, Meiko took another step forward, then another until she stood just beneath the fountain, Miwa smiling down on her as if nothing had changed. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't go apologizing," Miwa told her. "You had better hurry back before Namura-sensei finds out you've been gone. Did you forget you were getting married?"

Meiko was silent. Then, as if to prove to herself that she knew what she was doing, she gracefully sat on the fountain's edge, swiveled around and stood up in the water. "I'm not getting married today," she said quietly.

Miwa's surprise was evident, but he quickly masked it with seriousness. "Are you sure this is what you want, Meiko-san?"

In answer, Meiko wrapped her arms around Miwa's torso and pressed herself against his chest. After a slight pause, he placed his hands on her back and held her tightly, as if vowing never to let her go again. All the while, Meiko felt the rhythm of Miwa's heart in her ear and she knew that it was beating just as fast as hers.

**Hope it was alright! ~**


End file.
